Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host - by the Power of God - thrust into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Universalis, your very own breviary in pixels...

Saturday, 27 July 2013

... or the child, for that matter, voice any opinion as to what ought to be done?
WE will say what ought to be done, with "it".
She doesn't know enough to be allowed to refuse an abortion....

Chile's president has praised an 11-year-old girl after she said in a TV interview that she wants to give birth to the baby who was conceived when she was raped by her mother's partner.
...

"I've asked the health minister to personally look after the [girl's] health," Pinera said. "She's 14 weeks pregnant and yesterday she surprised us all with words showing depth and maturity, when she said that despite the pain caused by the man who raped her, she wanted to have and take care of her baby."
...

"I'm going to love the baby very much, even though it comes from that man who hurt me."

The former president Michelle Bachelet, the frontrunner in the 17 November presidential elections, favours legalising abortion in cases of rape or risk to the health of the pregnant woman or the child. Bachelet – a paediatrician who spent the past several years heading the UN agency for women – referred to the child's case in a recent interview. "She's a girl who needs to be protected and therefore I think a therapeutic abortion, in this case because of rape, would be in order," Bachelet told local Radio ADN.

Today is the birthday of the greatest man I have ever known personally.
He would have been 100.
If enjoying the Beatific Vision can somehow be improved upon, I believe that this is his most joyful birthday.

On Wednesday, July 10,
the Sorrowful Mother Shrine was hit by severe storms. A confirmed
tornado caused significant damage to the shrine woods. Luckily the
buildings were spared but over 80 trees were destroyed, many being large
old growth trees. Cleanup is underway and we hope to have the grounds
open by August 4 to accommodate pilgrimages scheduled through August.

At
first it seemed that we were devastated but as the trees are being
removed we are finding that all the statues, grottoes and shrines that
dot our grounds were spared. A number of trees fell within inches of
treasured objects without causing harm.

We
plan to not simply clean up the mess but to make it an opportunity to
enhance and improve our beautiful grounds. Join with us in thanksgiving
that the damage wasn’t greater and stop by and visit us as we look to
the future.I am certain that not just prayers, but donations would be greatly appreciated.